Tag Archives: Young-adult fiction

Pitch Madness – Mario Kart Edition

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Pitch Madness-Mario Kart Edition

It’s time for another Pitch Madness event brought to you by author Brenda Drake. The contest is for completed manuscripts only, so please don’t submit your current WIP. Since this is a blog contest, here is how it works. You’ll submit a 35 word pitch and the first 250 words of you manuscript via email. Hosts and co-hosts will select the 60 finalists to move into the agent round. They’ll accept MG, YA, NA, and adult fiction. (Sorry, no non-fiction allowed.)

The submission window will open at 12:01 AM EST on February 26, 2016 and close at 11:59 PM EST. Participating agents will be announced on Brenda’s blog on February 17th, so watch her site for updates and submission guidelines.

PITCHMAS TIME IS HERE!

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Oh yes, it’s that holly-jolly Pitchmas time! You know? The best time of the year! Where agents and editors stalk the feed to give you literary cheer!

Jessa Russo and Tamara Mataya are at it again! This year they have 16 agents and 9 editors participating in the Pitchmas blog contest. To submit, you’ll need a 35 word pitch for your finished, polished and unpublished manuscript! They will take submissions by email only, starting Sunday 12/13/14 at 9am PST and ending Monday 12/14/15 at 6pm PST. The winners will go live on the blog December 17, 2015.

And have no worries if you don’t make the contest. There will be a twitter pitch party for everyone on December 18, 2015. Be sure and use the twitter hashtag #Pitchmas

#SFFpit is Tomorrow!

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sffpit-contest

Hello my lovelies! Tomorrow (December 10, 2015) on twitter is #SFFpit hosted by Dan Koboldt. This is for Sci-Fi and Fantasy manuscripts only! Please do not pitch if your manuscript is not finished, polished, and unpublished.

As all twitter pitch contests, you need to have 140 character pitch ready that includes the hashtag #SFFpit along with:

AGE CATEGORY

  • #PB – Picture book
  • #MG – Middle grade
  • #YA – Young adult
  • #NA – New adult
  • #A – Adult

GENRE/Subgenre)

  • #FA – fantasy
  • #CF – contemporary fantasy
  • #DF – dark fantasy
  • #EF – epic or high fantasy
  • #FR – fantasy romance
  • #HF – historical fantasy
  • #LF – literary fantasy
  • #AH – alternate history
  • #MYF – mythic fantasy
  • #PN – paranormal
  • #UF – urban fantasy
  • #MR – magical realism
  • #SF – science fiction
  • #AF – apocalypse fiction
  • #ML – military science fiction
  • #PA – post-apocalyptic SF
  • #SFR – sci-fi romance
  • #SFT – sci-fi thriller
  • #SH – superhero / superhuman
  • #SO – space opera
  • #DS – dystopian
  • #SP – steampunk
  • #TT – time travel
  • #WW – weird west

The contest will run through 8am to 6pm EST. Also note the change of allowed pitches! Writers will only get 10 pitches (that’s one per hour). For more information check out the #SFFpit page. To show Dan Koboldt your appreciation for throwing together this awesome contest, be sure to follow his blog or twitter page.

As always, good luck!

P.D. Pabst
Blogger and writer of MG/YA fiction

Spencer Hill Press Open Submissions

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Hold the presses! Writers are getting messages that Spencer Hill Press isn’t taking submissions due to new management, despite what their website says. I’ve sent an email and hopefully I’ll back soon soon with confirmation and/or new dates when they’ll start taking submissions again. I’ll keep you posted!

The clock is ticking folks! Spencer Hill Press is taking open submissions for middle grade, young adult, and new adult for sci-fi, paranormal, or urban fantasy. For those unfamiliar with the policy for Spencer Hill Press, this is HUGE because this publishing company doesn’t normally take submissions from writers that aren’t represented by a literary agent. (Please note, if you have an agent you can still submit through normal channels.)

So, if you write in one of these categories/genres and your manuscript is FINISHED and POLISHED, submit by December 10th for a chance to be published by a very reputable publishing company.  I repeat, this is a small window of opportunity, so get your submissions in by December 10th, 2015. For all the important details go here.

As always, good luck!

P.D. Pabst
Blogger and writer of MG/YA fiction

#PitMad Is Tomorrow!

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Just a quick post from my mobile (so excuse any typos or wonky layouts). I want to make sure all my readers know Brenda Drake’s #PitMad is tomorrow! So get your 140 character pitch ready. If you won’t be home, you can always use TweetDeck to schedule your tweets.

And most importantly, be aware of the new rules! You are only allowed THREE pitches per manuscript. This is because #PitMad has become so popular that agents are having issues keeping up with the feed and many pitches are getting lost in the flow of abundance.

Also make a note NOT to RT to show support for a friend. (Tag them without RT to let them know.) And always-always remember to NOT favorite another pitch you like. This is for agents and publishers to request material.

For complete rules, go to the #PitMad page on Brenda’s site.

 

WHISKEY, WINE, & WRITING: Tonight YA PitchWars Mentors

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Another post to remind everyone that Whiskey, Wine, & Writing will have a few YA PitchWars Mentors as guests tonight starting at 8pm EST. Be sure to use the twitter hashtags #PitchWars or #WWWriting to ask questions during the live stream!
pitchwarswwwad

And so I don’t pester you every evening the events occur, here is a listing of the remaining scheduled dates and the age groups for the mentors. Each evening the links of these dates will change on the Whisky, Wine, & Writing site to showcase the participating mentors.

•Thursday 8/6 – YA/NA & NA/A Mentors
•Friday 8/7 – Adult Mentors
•Tuesday 8/11 – Middle Grade Mentors
•Wednesday 8/12 – YA Mentors
•Thursday 8/13 – YA/NA & NA/A Mentors
•Friday 8/14 – A mix of mentors who couldn’t make previous shows.

IT HAS BEGUN: Pitch Wars Mentor Blog Hop

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Woo-hoo! It’s that time of year again when mentors select a mentee to help them rework their entire manuscript for the agent round. This year Pitch Wars (hosted by the fabulous Brenda Drake) has 108 mentors to choose from to help make a writer’s story shine! But unlike past years, writers get to choose five mentors to submit instead of four. This is awesome!

Pitch Wars 2015

From today until submissions day (August 17), writers can peruse blogs of the participating mentors to see their wish list for entries and make sure they’d be a good match. Most of the mentors supply links to their twitter accounts too, where they can be stalked observed for social meshing. Also, a few beloved mentors said they don’t mind some questions via twitter or their blog, but be careful as to not be pitching to them. There are some other important dates when questions can be asked, such as #AskMentor on twitter (August 10), so be sure to check out Brenda’s blog. She has important dates and submission guidelines!

And here are your mentors…

1. Kes Trester (co- mentoring with Jennifer Hawkins) YA 37. Emmie Mears Adult 73. Katie Bucklein YA & NA
2. Mindy McGinnis (co- mentoring with Kate Karyus Quinn) YA 38. Lori Goldstein (co- mentoring with Chelsea Bobulski) YA 74. Kevin A Springer MG
3. N.K. Traver YA 39. Jennifer Hawkins (co- mentoring with Kes Trester) YA 75. Brianna Shrum YA
4. Kristin B. Wright Adult 40. Elizabeth Briggs YA & NA 76. Kate Karyus Quinn (co- mentoring with Mindy McGinnis) YA
5. Laura Heffernan Adult 41. Ron Walters (co- mentoring with Meredith McCardle) YA 77. Kim Graff YA
6. Mary Ann Marlowe Adult 42. Fiona McLaren (co- mentoring with Dionne McCulloch) MG 78. Emily Martin YA
7. Joy McCullough- Carranza MG 43. S.M. Johnston (co- mentoring with Stacey Nash) YA & NA 79. Trisha Leaver (co- mentoring with Jenni Walsh) YA
8. Lisa Lewis- Tyre MG 44. Max Wirestone Adult 80. Kim Long MG
9. Jenni L. Walsh (co- mentoring with Trisha Leaver) YA 45. Jaye Robin Brown YA 81. Catherine Scully MG
10. Sarah Glenn Marsh YA 46. Molly Lee YA 82. Stacey Trombley YA
11. Julie C. Dao MG 47. Rachel Lynn Solomon YA 83. Stephanie Scott (co- mentoring with Valerie Cole) YA
12. Kellye Garrett Adult 48. J.C. Nelson NA & Adult 84. Valerie Cole (co- mentoring with Stephanie Scott) YA
13. K.T. Hanna Adult 49. Holly Faur Adult 85. Lizzy Charles YA
14. Jessie Devine YA 50. Sonia Hartl Adult 86. Dannie Morin (co- mentoring with Alexandra Alessandri) YA
15. Rosalyn Eves YA 51. Natasha Raulerson Adult 87. Kate Foster MG
16. Jami Nord Adult 52. Marty Mayberry YA 88. Elly Blake MG
17. Samantha Joyce YA & NA 53. J.C. Davis MG 89. Julie Sondra Decker YA & NA
18. Helene Dunbar YA 54. Rebecca Wells MG 90. Lady Lioness NA & Adult
19. Jenna Lehne MG 55. Michelle Hauck Adult 91. Susan Gray Foster (co- mentoring with Monica Bustamante Wagner_ YA & NA
20. Linsey Miller YA 56. Tabitha Martin YA 92. Kelly Calabrese YA
21. Jessica Vitalis MG 57. Rebecca Petruck MG 93. Sarah Nicolas YA
22. Stacey Graham MG 58. Sarah Henning Adult 94. Kelly Siskind NA & Adult
23. Dan Koboldt Adult 59. Alex White Adult 95. Roselle Kaes Adult
24. Brighton Walsh NA & Adult 60. Jeanmarie Anaya YA 96. Monica Bustamante Wagner (co- mentoring with Susan Gray Foster) YA
25. Kate Brauning YA & NA 61. Laura Salters YA 97. Renee Ahdieh (co- mentoring with Traci Chee) YA
26. Lisa Maxwell YA 62. Wade Albert White MG 98. Traci Chee (co- mentoring with Renee Ahdieh) YA
27. Wendy Spinale YA 63. Brooks Benjamin MG 99. Janet B. Taylor (co- mentoring with Kathryn Purdie & Shannon Parker YA
28. Sarah Cannon MG 64. Margarita Montimore Adult 100. Jessie Humphries (co- mentoring with Mara Rae) YA
29. L.L. McKinney YA 65. Megan Grimit YA 101. Lynnette Labelle Adult
30. Juliana Brandt MG 66. Charlie Holmberg NA & Adult 102. Erica M. Chapman YA
31. Scarlett Cole Adult 67. Diana Gallager YA & NA 103. Summer Spence YA
32. Hayley Stone Adult 68. Stefanie Wass MG 104. Marieke Nijkamp YA
33. Jennifer Blackwood YA & NA 69. Tamara Mataya Adult 105. Meredith McCardle (co- mentoring with Ron Walters) YA
34. Kendra Young MG 70. Rebecca Sky YA & NA 106. Thomas Torre MG
35. S.P. McConnell NA & Adult 71. Kara Seal MG 107. Phil Stamper YA
36. Nikki Roberti YA 72. Lee Gjertsen Malone MG 108. J.A. Souders YA

While I helped by stating the age category each mentor is requesting, READ THEIR BIO’s to make sure they rep your genre! And before I let you go, here is a peak of some of the participating agents this year! (And Brenda has said more will be coming!)

  • Louise Fury – The Bent Agency
  • Melissa Edwards – Aaron Priest Agency
  • Alexandra Machinist – ICM Partners
  • Saba Sulaiman – Talcott Notch
  • Laura Biagi – Jean V. Naggar
  • Claire Anderson Wheeler – Regal Literary
  • Stefanie Lieberman – Janklow & Nesbit Associates
  • Carrie Prestritto – Prospect Agency
  • Melissa Nasson – Ruben Pfeffer Content
  • Uwe Stender/ Brent Taylor – TriadaUS
  • The New Leaf Literary Agents – Suzie Townsend, Pete Knapp
  • Molly Glick – Foundry Literary
  • Kitty Walker – Eve White Literary Group
  • Moe Ferrera – Booksends
  • Margaret Bail – Inklings Literary Agency
  • Julia Weber – J.A. Weber Literaturagentur GmbH
  • Rachel Brooks – L. Perkins Agency
  • Leon Husock – L. Perkins Agency
  • Christa Heschke – McIntosh & Otis
  • Stacey Donaghy – Donaghy Literary Group
  • Taylor Haggerty – Waxman Leavell Literary Agency
  • Emmanuelle Morgen – Stonesong
  • Amy Cloughley – Kimberley Cameron & Association
  • Brianne Johnson – Writers House
  • And more to come!

As always, good luck!

P.D. Pabst
Blogger and Writer of MG/YA fiction

NEW AGENT CONTEST FOR WRITERS

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It’s no secret, I love me some good contests, especially those for writers. I do my best to keep everyone posted. And here is another fabulous opportunity. Michelle Hauck is rolling out the red carpet for New Agents.

 red carpet

This is a golden opportunity for writers because new agents are still building their client list. Which means they have more time to spend one-on-one with you. And remember, just because they are new, doesn’t mean they aren’t experienced. Sometimes agents move from one agency to another and need to build a new client list. Or perhaps, someone who has worked as an intern for several years gets promoted. And don’t forget all those lovely editors who worked at publishing companies and decided to become an agent.  Either way, they’ve worked in the publishing industry in one way or another.

For a complete list of agents, click on the link above and go here for the formatting guidelines. Submissions start at noon on Wednesday, July 15, 2015. There will be a short revision period for the writers chosen before the agent round between July 27-29. You can also watch the hashtag #NewAgent on twitter for updates, news, or teasers. (The hashtag is currently being stalked by real estate agents, but I imagine the writers will take over by tomorrow!)

As always, good luck!

P.D. Pabst
Blogger and Writer of MG/YA fiction

Review: CRUEL BEAUTY by Rosamund Hodge

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When a book keeps me up all night, I have to blog about the story. I started reading CRUEL BEAUTY by Rosamund Hodge Friday evening and didn’t go to bed until 6am!

cruel-beauty-sml

Of course, I’ve always been a sucker for anything remotely BEAUTY AND THE BEAST with a twist. (Those that have beta read my BEAST know this to be true.) And this story delivers! Now, I’m usually one to stay away from tales that mention a demon. Yunno, cracking the door paranoia sort of thing. But this isn’t that kind of story to fear. No Heaven versus Hell with fallen angels stuff, but more internal good versus evil. The fact that Rosamund created Nyx Triskelion (this story’s Belle) with bitterness in her heart made the character more realistic. Darkness lives inside the Lord of Bargain’s ever changing castle (which reminds me of Hogwarts) and the magical turns will keep you flipping to the next page. And if you’re a fan of Greek mythology, Rosamund perfectly weaves the ancient gods into her eerily twisted tale.

But wait…there’s more! (Mhmm, I said that.)

I couldn’t get enough of Rosamund’s style. So on Saturday, I read her novella GILDED ASHES (CRUEL BEAUTY UNIVERSE BOOK 2). This is sort of a prequel to CRUEL BEAUTY, but only in the sense that it takes place in the same area before the time of Nyx Triskelion and the Lord of Bargain makes a cameo. This is it’s own twisted story based on CINDERELLA. Rosamund keeps true to her flawed characters and betrayal’s that leave you fuming.

GildedAshes_web

Now, I’m anticipating the release of her next novel CRIMSON BOUND. And you guessed it, another twisted fairytale retelling: LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD. Give me!

P.D. Pabst
Writer and blogger of MG/YA fiction

THE YEAR 2015

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Many folk make new year resolutions every year: shed more weight, spend more time with the family, get a better job, buy a house, find a better treatment for an illness, and on and on and on. These are important to all who make them and often are needed for improvements in the quality of their life. But for writer’s, resolutions tend to remain similar: write a manuscript (or write a better manuscript), find awesome critique partners, sign with an agent, get an amazing editor, have a book published (or get another book published), and so forth. But what if last years resolution wasn’t met?

Making the decision to do something and see it to fruition doesn’t always mean that it will occur in the timeframe one may wish. Does this mean a person should give up on that resolution? Of course not. Only ideas that are abandoned will certainly never see the light of day. Maybe the method someone uses works fine and just needs more time. Or maybe the person needs to find a new approach. For example, maybe a pantser decides to outline a plot this year or perhaps a writer reworks a query letter to take a completely different angle. Everyone should find what works best for them, even if it means changing things up a bit. With diligence and creativity, resolutions for 2015 can be accomplished.

Believe!

P.D. Pabst
Writer and blogger of MG/YA fiction